


Day 9 - Stop It! That Tickles!

by ScullyLovesQueequeg



Series: Fictober 2019 [8]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: Complete, Gen, Light Angst, Season/Series 06
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-09
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-15 15:14:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21255407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScullyLovesQueequeg/pseuds/ScullyLovesQueequeg
Summary: Mulder and Scully share a kiss, and then Scully starts acting really weird about it.





	1. Day 9 - Stop It, That Tickles!

“I said I was fine,” Mulder murmured, sitting on his desk, facing Scully. She ignored his words, visually examining his body.

“I need you to take off your shirt. I want to make sure you’re healing up okay,” Scully said, though if she was being honest, she didn’t _need_ to. But Mulder didn’t know that.

“D-do I have to?” He sounded flustered, and Scully smirked to herself. _Was he nervous?_

“No, but if you let me check, I can change the dressing for you. When was the last time you changed them?” She asked, watching as he started to slowly take off his jacket. Scully felt a gentle fluttering in her belly, which she ignored as she watched him loosen his tie and unbutton his shirt.

“Last night,” Mulder answered, shrugging off his shirt. he set it aside, and was left in just his undershirt, which did little to hide his muscles. He was fit, and it showed. She couldn’t help but inhale sharply as she felt a pang of desire strike her like a bolt of lighting. It was disorienting, but not unwelcome, and only got worse when he started to roll up his undershirt to allow access to his injury.

God, she wanted to fuck him.

If she was being honest with herself, she knew her feelings for him were becoming an issue. She thought about fucking him more often that she liked to admit, and it was causing her to act differently around him. _To shut him out._

She was tired of being the consummate professional. She was tired of denying to herself the way she felt, and she was tired of shutting Mulder out, too. Mulder, who at every step of the way, had been her rock. He was the first thing on her mind in the morning and her closing thoughts at the end of the day.

“While it would be ideal, staring at my chest isn’t going to fix my injury.”

His voice brought her back from the place her mind had wandered, and she glanced up at his face. He held her gaze, though now, his undershirt lay crumpled in his lap.

She should have been in his lap.

“I’m sorry, I was thinking…” Scully said, shaking her head, and turning to open her bag that rested in the chair that was beside her.

“What about?” His voice had gone soft, and he seemed concerned.

“–where I left my gloves,” She lied, slipping on a pair. He seemed to accept this explanation, as he did not question her further. As she pulled out some of her supplies, she could hear him peeling away the bandages. Twice, she heard him inhale sharply, and even give a little groan that made another pang of desire race through her body.

Dana Scully was by no means a prude. If things had been different between her and Mulder–if they weren’t _partners_–she would have him raw dogging her at the next available opportunity. There were times where it took every ounce of will power she possessed to not shove him against the wall and beg him to take her.

But she was a professional, which was something she had to remind herself of. Even when watching his tongue smooth over his lips while he was deep in thought, trying to come up with a theory. Even when he rolled up his sleeves, and loosened his tie.

Their undercover case in San Diego was _hell_. 

But she remained professional. Like the week before when Mulder called her to come over to show her something important, and she spotted Diana Fowley on her way out. Scully was not violent, but she thought briefly, in a moment of weakness that she could make an exception. That thought still caused her shame.

Her professional demeanor (in spite of all the growing challenges they faced) only proved she was more than capable of handling herself when it came to being tempted by her desires for Mulder.

But it didn’t mean it wasn’t difficult.

When Scully turned to face him, Mulder noticed that she simply honed in on the injury to his side. She did not meet his gaze, or warn him. Gingerly, he lifted his arm to let Scully get a better look, and he winced when she pressed her fingers into the tender skin that surrounded the cut. He exhaled forcefully, and he recoiled from her touch.

If he was being honest, it didn’t hurt as much as he had made it seem. It had been a week, while it was sore, it didn’t ache nor was it as tender as it had been in first couple of hours following the accident.

No, what caused him to recoil was the spark he felt when her fingers brushed his skin. Even through gloves, he could feel it. It was usually brief, and usually when she touched his hand. Again, Scully moved her fingers over the skin that surrounded his injury, and this time he squirmed.

“Don’t move,” She warned. She prodded him some more, though for fun or on purpose, he could not discern. He squirmed, and started to laugh a little, which cause Scully to pull back, and look at him quizzically.

“Stop it, that tickles!” Mulder exclaimed, and Scully took a step back, blinking at him, but not smiling. She shook her head and headed off to her side of the room to get some antibiotic ointment. Mulder watched as she moved, shuddering a little in the cold basement air. _God she needed to hurry…_

“I feel like I’m on the verge of hypothermia here,” Mulder joked as Scully made her way back over to him. She glanced up at him, and managed a smile, but it was clear to Mulder that her mind was elsewhere. She said nothing as she began to clean his wound, apply ointment, and cover the wound again. When she was finished, she turned her back towards him and began to remove her gloves. Mulder redressed silently.

“Is everything okay? You seem… I don’t know, less engaged than you are usually,” Mulder spoke, as he started to button his shirt. He watched as she was leaned forward, rummaging through her bag. His eyes wandered from her bag to her legs, and then her shapely ass, before Mulder felt his cock twitch.

_You pig._

“I’m fine, I guess I’m still somewhat jet lagged,” She answered him, turning to face him, and giving him a smile that seemed to match her words. Mulder nodded, but there was more to it than just jet lag. He could tell.

“Thankfully, 5’s right around the corner,” Mulder said, nodding more to himself than to her. Scully reached over for his tie and slipped it around his neck and began to tie it. She was close–mere inches, and Mulder wanted to try something new.

The first time he tried it, a bee had interrupted him.

That wouldn’t happen again.


	2. Day 12 - You Could Talk About It, You Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder goes to a diner to talk to his friends to get advice.

“…Scully?” His voice was a low whisper, and she glanced up from where she was playing with his tie, to look into his eyes.

“…yes?”

_It’s now or never._

Mulder watched as she held his gaze, her eyes holding something. It was the same something he had seen in the hallway. His hallway. The same something that told him that time was passing by and yet neither of them could feel it.

To hell with that bee.

This time, when he kissed her, no one interrupted. It didn’t last long, and when she pulled away from him a little too quickly, Mulder worried, maybe he had pushed her too much.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me. I… I misread the mood,” Mulder said. Scully frowned and turned to get her bag from the chair. Mulder watched she took the bag back to her side of the office, and he sighed, slipping off the desk.

“Scully, please… I… I fucked up. I shouldn’t have taken advantage of you, of the situation, I just thought that it was okay, the way you were looking at me… I… I should have asked.”

She didn’t answer, and he felt his heart sinking. She came back over to his side of the room and looked at him, sadly, almost. She crossed in front of him and headed to the coat rack.

“It’s fine, Mulder. I’m not angry. I just didn’t expect it. It was nice. I’ll see you tomorrow,” She said, putting on her coat. Mulder wasn’t sure what to say, but everything was wrong somehow.

“D-did I do something wrong?” 

Scully paused and looked over at Mulder. She didn’t answer but her expression spoke for her. Maybe he hadn’t done anything wrong, but something was wrong.

“I’ll see you, Mulder,” She said, leaving Mulder alone to his thoughts.

“I don’t know why she left like that,” Mulder said, sitting in a booth across from Frohike and Langly. Byers was not present. The three of them sat in a diner, the kind with that low, annoying buzz from the neon signs.

“Women,” Langly remarked, inspecting his burger for abnormalities. As if Langly had not spoken, Frohike said,

“And all you did was kiss her? Was she trying to get away?”

“No, but… she’d been kind of distant. She was redressing my wounds, and… I don’t know, the way she was looking at me, I thought she wanted me to. I apologized to her, though. It’s just… remember when I was in the hospital?”

“Which time?” Langly asked sarcastically, garnering a smirk from Frohike, “The time when we found you floating in the ocean? Or the time when you were shot at the military base? Or that time you got hit by the car and you said the man was a skinwalker–”

“The time I was shot, and I asked to take Byers’ clothes because I needed to find Scully,” Mulder reminded them.

“What about it?” Frohike asked, salting his fries.

“Well, Scully and I were… we were in the hallway–she was going to leave the FBI because they were reassigning her–and I was about to kiss her, and she was stung by a bee… and you know the rest. She seemed to want it. She gave me the same look.”

“But she didn’t say anything?”

“No. What should I do? I don’t want this to come between us–I don’t want to lose her,” Mulder said, concern filling his tone. 

“You could talk about it, you know?” Frohike suggested, and Mulder rolled his eyes.

“I think he’s on to something,” Langly said sarcastically, and both Frohike and Mulder said,

“Shut up.”

Mulder stared at his food, which was just a simple salad. He didn’t really feel much like eating. A silence persisted between the three of them until Frohike finally said,

“I don’t think you have anything to lose by just talking to her. I know, it sounds stupid but… just give it a shot. I don’t think you have anything to lose if you do. At least you’ll get the closure you want.”

Mulder sighed and slipped out of the booth. He took out his wallet and left some bills on the table.

“Where are you headed?”

“To get closure.”


	3. Day 21 - We Could Have A Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mulder goes to talk to Scully.

Of all the times to be alone, this was one of the few he wished he had asked one of the Lone Gunmen to come with him. Maybe it would make things worse, but it wouldn’t be so lonely. It was a drive Mulder had made many, many times in the past, and never with the same mood attached. The mood at the moment for him was apprehension, and rightfully so; He felt as though he had irreparably ruined his relationship with Scully. It was a possibility.

But it was also a possibility that he hadn’t changed a thing. Or that things would get better. He couldn’t say for certain, but he knew that whatever conversation they would have in her apartment, it would change something for them.

When Mulder made it to her apartment, he needed some extra coaching to get him out of the car and into the building proper. If he was being honest with himself, it was something that had Frohike not encouraged, he wouldn’t have bothered with. Even as he stood outside her door, his mind went through different scenarios, and twice, he nearly talked himself into going back to his home. But he needed to know. 

Reluctantly, he thumbed the doorbell to Scully’s apartment before pushing it. The inner chime was soft, and he heard Scully shuffling inside, presumably to answer. After a moment, she opened the door. She was just wearing a t-shirt, and a pair of shorts, giving her this casual look that made Mulder feel like this was a mistake. There was a jolt of excitement in the pit of his belly.

“Mulder, what are you doing here?” She asked, appraising his appearance, but blocking his entry.

_‘She isn’t wearing a bra._’ Mulder thought as he examined the little the shirt she was wearing allowed him to see. He could see the outline of her nipples clearly.

“You’re not going to let me in?” He asked, and Scully sighed, moving aside to let him come in. Mulder scurried inside, and waited for Scully to close the door before he addressed her again: 

“I wanted to see you. I wanted to talk. Is now a bad time?”

“No, I was just watching TV,” She said, heading back over to the couch. Mulder joined her but did not sit directly beside her. He let the space between them speak volumes. If Scully noticed, she didn’t say anything. She turned off the tv when the program ended.

“What did you want to talk about?” Scully asked, turning to face him. She brought her leg up on the couch and leaned to the side, her body resting against the back of the sofa. There was something tired and worn out about her that he hadn’t noticed before, and again, he reconsidered.

“Back there at the office, when I kissed you, the way you reacted… did I do something wrong?” The question was out in the open, for both of them to examine, like the bodies that often occupied the autopsy tables she worked on. Unlike the bodies, the question caused Scully a degree of unease.

She glanced away from him, her gaze falling to the objects on the coffee table in front of her couch. She seemed conflicted, but after a soft sigh, she said:

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m sorry Mulder. I shouldn’t have… I enjoyed it, but I think it was a bad idea,” Scully explained, and Mulder felt his heart falling.

“We could have a chance here, Scully. What is so bad about that?”

Again, there was a silence that started small, but it grew until it became suddenly realized as a problem, and Mulder realized that she either was waiting on him or that she wasn’t going to answer.

“Is that really so bad? The idea of you and me?” The tone in his voice reflected the genuine hurt at the implication that she did not see him as a suitable romantic interest.

“That isn’t what I’m saying,” Scully protested.

“You aren’t saying _anything _which actually speaks volumes about how you really feel.”

“I’m not–I’m not ready to talk about this. Not now. Please." 

"When then? We can’t avoid this forever,” Mulder said, running his hand through his hair in a frustrated manner. Scully refused to look at him.

“Why do we have to talk about it?” She asked, finally looking at him. Her eyes met his and held an unspoken appeal for him to just drop the subject and forget everything.

“You know what? You’re right,” Mulder said, standing. Scully remained seated as Mulder headed for the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Scully.”

She didn’t answer, but only when she heard the door close, did she allow herself to release a breath she’d been holding. Shaky legs carried her to the door as she locked it behind him.

“…I just wanted to know,” She heard him say from the other side of the door, “If I had hurt you.”

“You hadn’t.”


	4. Day 26 - Missed Opportunity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day after. Scully makes her final decision.

The next morning, when Scully walked in to the office, something seemed off. Mulder was there, as usual. He glanced up at her and gave her a small, sad smile, which Scully did not return.

“Good morning, I don’t suppose you’ll want to help me change my dressings again…?” Mulder asked. Despite her feelings, she glanced up and gave him a look of concern.

“Mulder, of course, I’ll help you. I’m sorry about yesterday. You really didn’t do anything wrong. Maybe if things were different between us…” She started, putting her bag down and opening it. Mulder took a seat on the edge of his desk once again and removed his jacket, his shirt, and his undershirt as Scully got the dressings ready.

“Different how?” He asked as Scully began to remove the old dressings. It was almost exactly as it was the day before, and again, he was taken by the urge to kiss her. This time, he didn’t follow it through.

“You’re my partner. What if… what if we had to separate because of our relationship? What if it makes us compromise ourselves? What if you start acting differently? What if we break up? There are so many variables to account for,” Scully explained, smoothing her hand over the tape that held the gauze in place. “I think where we are now is perfect.”

“I think you only like men who have power over you,” Mulder said quietly, as Scully helped him redress. She started to fasten his shirt buttons for him. “As someone who’s admitted that they’ll be lost without you… maybe you want a man who can look after himself. I bet you like rough sex, too.”

Scully stared at him, her hand on the last button, and close to his lap. She let her hand move lower and rest to feel him through his pants. She gave him a firm squeeze, but then withdrew her hand.

“You don’t know what I like.” Her voice was a low, breathy whisper, and Mulder felt more confusion, which lead to frustration. He gently touched her wrist to encourage her to move her hand away from him. She did.

“You’re right, I don’t. I’ve never gotten the chance to. Whose fault is that?”

Scully looked him over, and then took a step back, obviously conflicted. 

“Maybe in another life.” She finally said, putting her things away.

“I’d quit right now if it meant I had a shot,” Mulder said, and Scully sighed, and looked over at him.

“You would really do that… just for me?”

“I traveled to Antarctica for you. I don’t know what more I can do to prove that I would, quite literally, do anything for you. The fact that you even had to ask…” Mulder sighed and slipped off the table.

“…I just want to leave things the way there are.” Scully said, and Mulder shrugged.

“Whatever you want.”


End file.
